


Lost Hope

by DeltaPhazon



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Character Death, Corruption, Descent into Madness, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Insanity, Masochism, Or at least I tried to make it that way., Original Character(s), Possession, Psychological Horror, Sadism, Survivors are stupid, Tags Are Hard, probably didn't work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-19 04:53:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20325406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeltaPhazon/pseuds/DeltaPhazon
Summary: Being trapped in the domain of The Entity can take a toll on anyone. But the survivors all agree on one thing. They have to believe they'll make it out alive. They have to keep hopeful. But what happens when a survivor loses hope?





	Lost Hope

Jessica looked at the Generator with disdain before kicking it angrily. Why was she stuck in this place? She was just a typical high school girl with a group of friends. All she did was go to school and hang out with them to play video games. Well, win video games mostly. It always came down to shooters. And when they played shooters, no-one could beat her. There was a lot of complaints that she wasn’t playing the game right from the sore losers. She always played as a sniper and every game, without fail, she would find the perfect place and wait until her opponent popped their head out and took them out. With how those games work, with the amount of benefits received from kill streaks, this often caused a snowball effect that ended with her effortlessly taking any combination of the other three friends she had down. She was proud of her streak. She knew how to hunt. After all, her father was an avid hunter. He had taught her how to use a real sniper rifle, so using one in a game was child's play.

Then she went for a walk one evening, headphones on like normal. Then, all of a sudden, the fog became extremely thick and the music she was listening to stuttered before going off. As she tried to find her way, walking for what seemed like an eternity, she saw a faint light in the distance. Approaching it, the fog cleared and the girl approached a campfire. Around it were a bunch of other people. The general consensus was to welcome her to hell. She was confused but it wasn’t long until she figured out what that meant. She was dragged to a strange place and was forced to run for her life from a rabid murderer and try to fix strange machines at the same time with three other, as she came to realise during her many, many repeats of the same thing, incompetent teammates. She was impaled on a hook and woke up back at the campfire so many times. When she finally escaped, leaving all her teammates dead behind her, she thought she could finally return home. Her hopes were dashed when she saw the same light and arrived right back at the same campfire. She lost track of time after that. She became more irritable as the games went on with no end in sight. 

Jess was called on again. She walked slowly, trying not to catch the killers attention and came across a lone generator. This time it was the abandoned hospital. The white walls stained with blood and dirt and the screams from the centre room echoing down the corridors. Seeing the generator, she angrily kicked it. “DAMN IT!” She screamed in frustration. She placed her hand on the cold, rusty metal. “ Why… How long do I have to do this?” She glanced through the window next to her. A hook swung, creaking ever so slightly, likely well oiled by blood from the countless games the entity in charge of the loops had forced. She watched the blade glint, mesmerised. Her mouth started to become dry. A mix of fear, anxiety and anticipation of what was to come when the killer tracked her down made her heart start to beat faster in her chest. She wondered if there was a way she could escape forever. Maybe if she gave herself to it willingly… There was a shuffle behind her, breaking her out of her trance. Her heart beat sped up, but she sighed and closed her eyes, letting it slow. A trick she had learned from her years practising as a sniper. She slowly turned around and faced the killer of the day. The Legion approached her, their long jumper hiding their makeshift knife and their mask being held together by a few staples. “ I’m not running.”

“ Why?” The Legion asked, her voice muffled.

“ There’s no point in it.” Jess said. “ Why bother? If I escape, I’ll be back in a few hours anyway.”

“ You survivors like to hold onto your life though.”

“ The rest don’t like to think it’s pointless. Maybe they’re afraid they’ll go crazy if they don’t focus on getting out.” Jess reasoned. “ But I’m a realist. I won’t play this sick game anymore. So kill me.”

“ Very well.” The Legion said. Jess closed her eyes and grunted lightly as she felt the blade enter her side. She fell to the ground bleeding and was soon strung up on the hook just outside. Then she felt the spears of the entity pierce her. A few moments later and she was back to the beginning. She sighed deeply and just lay there for a few minutes before Adam came over and asked if she was alright.

******************

The next game ended the same as the last. It was the Trapper this time having her run around in the temple deep in some forest. She saw his bear trap out in the open and spent a minute just looking at it. The Trapper must have really looked after his traps, she thought. It was spotless and painted just dark enough to barely be seen in the grass. Not that was ever the major issue when the Trapper was on the prowl. She had run into the damn things when trying to escape the man enough to know it wasn’t the trap itself that was the problem. She ran her finger across one of the teeth. She looked at her finger as blood came to the surface from the cut. She looked back at the trap. Her mouth felt dry and her heart beat faster. She felt a desire take over her. Then she took a deep breath. She lifted her foot and hovered it over mechanism. If she did this, she knew what would happen. She would feel immense pain and the Trapper was sure to find her and hang her up. She swallowed. A faint smile formed on her lips. She put her foot down, listening as the trap creaked shut and feeling the pain as the jaws bit down on her leg. Soon after, The Trapper came and found her and sent her back to campfire. She raised her hand and saw her wound healed. 

Another game had her allies fighting for survival against the Huntress outside a building that had an old sign out front read “Badham Preschool”. She watched from behind a wall as the axe throwing killer nailed Kate in the back after she failed to escape fast enough when she heard her song. Jess had slipped away from the group and found a locker after seeing this. Instead of hiding, she pulled out one of the hefty hatchets and sat, her legs folded with the hatchet in her lap and just looked it over. She felt splinters fall off it as she touched the handle. She then lifted the blade up to the light of the moon and watched it’s gleam. Unlike the Trapper, these hatchets were not clean. Instead, the blade was covered in dry blood of the many victims before the survivor got her hands on it. She stood up slowly and raised the blade above her head and then moved her hands in a throwing motion, not actually letting go. She felt the weight of the blade and recognised how the Huntress used it so effectively. She looked at the blade again, feeling her mouth go dry. Her heart beast sped up and her mouth twitched. She slowly moved her hand to her neck, her breath shaking. She heard a twig snap close to her, causing her to drop the axe on the dirt. A few seconds later, Nea peeked her head around the corner. She escaped that game alive.

Another game she had taken a toolbox into the trial as one of the perks she was allowed by the entity keeping them trapped. She used it and took apart one of the hooks just to examine the blade. It was in the junkyard, so she noted how the structure was makeshift of bits of old cars and thrown away cans and other metal objects. She also noted the chain attached to the hook. She wondered why no killer used a weapon like this, seeing as it could be thrown and dragged back to them. Then she heard the lullaby. She didn’t fight it as she started falling asleep. A few moments later, she felt a claw slash at her back, tearing away her flesh and sending her back to the campfire without her toolbox or the hook she was coveting.

In another, she was facing the Pig in the snowy, run down ski resort. She took time to look at the boxes the killer set up during her trials. The hand holes that people thrust their hands in while looking for the lifesaving key were covered in shards of glass. She stuck her hand inside, feeling the shards cut her wrist. She felt some blades in the box as well. She couldn’t see them, so she assumed they were razor blades. Removing her hand she looked over her bloody, mauled hand with a distant smile. Then she noticed the ground start to glow. She waited, watching as the ground started to split apart. She looked up, noticing the Pig watching her from a distance and gave her a slight wave and a smile before the entity sprung up from the floor and distorted and snapped her body out of place before forcibly dragging her back to the campfire.

Another had her facing the Doctor among the corn fields of the old farm. She was caught after she noticed a few generators go active. She felt as the Doctor sent his field of electricity towards her. It jolted through her, zapping at her brain and she yelped in pain. He did it again. She felt as the hairs on her arms stood at attention and her brain heated up and cooled rapidly, earning another scream. The third time, she smiled madly as the pain hit her brain. She slowed her running slightly as the sparks caused her to freeze up for a second, her motor functions failing her for just a brief moment and she let out a dry gasp. She laughed the fourth time. It didn’t hurt any less, but she didn’t care anymore. She just laughed as the Doctor smashed her across the back of her head with his spiked club before he answered her with his own deranged cackles and tossed her on the hook.

And then she returned to the hospital. Even Jessica knew it was a bad habit she was letting herself indulge in. Despite this, she found herself grumbling in annoyance as she found nothing. No traps in the halls. No hatchets in the lockers. No toolboxes in the chests. With a heavy hearted sigh, she walked to a generator and stared at it. She reached her hand into a hole and clicked a gear, watching it spurt to life. Then she kicked it hard and listened to it stop. It was really easy, she thought. Probably designed to be so fragile on purpose. She heard some shuffling from behind her. She turned around. “ Still not running.” She said. The Legion sighed.

“ How many trials has it been for you?” She asked.

“ I lost count.”

“ Me too.” The two went silent.

“ Aren’t you going to kill me?” Jessica asked. 

“ Why do want to die so much?” Legion asked. Jessica looked at her hand and smiled.

“ I think I love the pain. There’s no point in trying anymore. But the pain gives me a rush like nothing else.” Jessica leant against the generator. “ I used to be so scared. There were so many questions, but none of them seem to matter anymore. Will I be shocked physically by that mad doctor or psychologically by the ghost banging his bell right behind me? Will the bear trap be against my leg or by throat? Will I be put to sleep and mauled in my nightmares or stalked by someone I don’t even know is there? Will it be someone who can hide in plain sight or rush towards me while invisible? Will I be choked by gas or by a hand? Will I get an axe thrown at me or have someone appear from nowhere right in front of my eyes? Will I be stabbed by a knife or clubbed by an Incense burner? Will I be sent back to the campfire alone or with others? Will I escape or will I be killed?” She sighed.

“ At least you have friends.”

“ Ha ha ha ha.” Jessica laughed drily. “ I had friends once. They were awesome. I think we played games. I think I always won. It’s all so hazy now. But now, it’s just... them. Will Dwight hide in a locker again? Will Meg run away and leave us all to die? Will Claudette die before we get wounded? Will Nea be able to outrun the killer while we get the generators done? Can Jake get the hooks taken down before we get strung up? How will they all fuck it up and make me hate them more than I already do.” She looked back at the Legion. “ And you?”

“ We respect each other.” Legion admitted. “ We all know what will happen if we don’t please the entity but we have more freedom than you, I guess. We aren’t human anymore, but we can still talk to each other at our lowest. Joey is a dork, Julie is my best friend as she was on the outside and although Frank got us into this mess, but he keeps us together.” Legion laughed lightly.

“ At least you're having fun. One of us has too.” 

“ I suppose.” In the distance, a generator exploded. Jessica sighed.

“ There’s a one in three chance, but I’m guessing that’s Dwight.”

“ You bet on who fails?”

“ Yeah. Dwight’s a jittery mess. Check your lockers if you see him. High chance he’s in one of them for a good minute and a half after he blows a generator up. According to Meg, he’s been here since the beginning and he still refuses to learn. It’s annoying.” Jess sighed. “ I could talk to you for hours about all their little tricks, but I don’t think we have the time.” As she said that, a large buzzer sound filled the hall and the generator Jess leaned against sprung to life. The Legion jumped. " Predictable."

“ What? No no no no no. Not right now.” She said, panicked. “ When we don’t sacrifice anyone in a game, the entity… it punishes us and…”

“ Say no more.” Jess said. She vaulted the window next to her and looked up at the hook swinging. Her mouth went dry. “ Names Jess by the way.”

“ Susie.” The Legion answered. “ And thanks.” Then Jess felt the blade pierce her back and everything went black.

***************

Jess lost count again of the games after that. She loved it when she died. When she didn’t, she resented it. Because, when she survived, she had to see the smiles on the other survivors faces like they had actually accomplished something. Like they were a step closer to not having to play yet another sick game. Then, something happened. Something that gave Jess a new sense of just how far she could fall in this realm.

She was in the basement. The others were busy hiding from another of the Legion in the housing estate. She got her hands on the chest in the basement and was just about to grab the toolbox from it when she heard a crack behind her. She didn’t think. She grabbed the box and in a quick heat of the moment action, spun around and swung. She heard a sickening crack as the metal object hit Jake square across his face and sent him to the ground, blood coming from his nose. Jess looked at the man in shock. He was unconscious. A feeling welled up inside of her. It wasn’t regret or any negative feeling she could trace. It was a sudden tingle up her spine, similar to when she let herself get hurt. Except, it was different somehow. This was more intense. Looking down at Jake’s form, she tapped him with her foot, making sure he was actually unconscious. She then kicked him again, just a little harder. The feeling came back. She kicked him again. The feeling came back. So she kept going. A grin crept onto her face. She became more ferocious with her kicks. She laughed, giddily enjoying what she was doing. She kicked Jake hard across the face. A whistle broke her out of her giddy enjoyment. “ H-Huh?”

“ God damn.” A deep voice said. She gasped, looking at the stairs. Watching her, a hand on his chin, was the Legion. “ I took two people out and looked all over for the last two. I was concerned cause I didn’t hear any of those blasted machines going off. Then I hear some thumps and what do I see?”

“ I-It’s not…” Jess tried to say but her voice failed her. The Legion kept talking.

“ A renegade survivor. Hey, I appreciate people doing my job for me. Gotta say though, your style could do with a bit more grace though.” The Legion walked over and crouched down next to the beaten survivor and pressed his hand against his chest. “ Still alive though.” He stood up and turned his attention back to Jess. “ So. I take it you’re that strange survivor a lot of the others have been talking about.”

“ S-Strange?”

“ Susie was going on about actually talking to you about stuff. Says you ain’t really into the whole living thing. Trapper said the same person keeps stepping in his traps and he's convinced ya doing it on purpose. Freddles said someone sabotaged a hook just to feel it up. The Doc actually like you, which is saying something. Not everyone finds his therapy very therapeutic, as you can imagine.”

“ Um… I-I mean...”

“ Honestly, I’m shocked. I see those idiots running around and all I can think is “Why do you even try?” And yet here you are. One of them who actually doesn’t try. You’ve lost all hope of getting out of this, haven’t you?” Jessica went silent, her eyes trained to the floor. “ I wonder… How did you feel?”  
“ What do you mean?”

“ When you hit this guy? You felt… good, didn’t you?” Jess didn’t want to admit it. But she did feel a rush when she did it, even more when she hurt herself. It was a thrill she couldn’t quite match. “ Catch.” The Legion said, tossing her something. She fumbled to catch it and gasped.

“ T-This is…” It was a knife, the type of knife a hunter may use to slit the throat of an animal. She looked at the blade, letting her fingers press in the indents in the handle. It was a simple blade with some jagged teeth on the back, probably meant to cut rope or some other tough material she assumed. There was fresh blood on the blade from the other survivors the Legion has supposedly cut down upstairs on the blade. She ran a finger down the edge of the blade, watching as her own blood lingered on the knife’s edge. And yet the feeling just wasn’t the same anymore. No. It was more like it was the same, but she needed more. She needed the other feeling she had experienced not long ago. The feeling of joy still lingering in her head. A joy from doing something that she knew was completely wrong but still made her heart race and her spine tingle with a unique chill. She looked at the other body in the room. He was completely helpless. Her hand shook and her breath grew shallow. Her mouth went dry. She felt a lump in her throat and swallowed to try and keep it down. She felt as her heart raced, going wild as she thought of what she could do to get that high again. Her hand tightened around the blade in her hand.

“ We have time. Do whatever you like.” The Legion said but Jess barely registered he’d said anything at all. In her daze, there was nothing else but Jessica, a knife and a body. Everything else might as well have been the void. She was slow at first. Hesitant. She dropped to her knees. Her body shook. Her mind raced. She knew what she was doing wasn’t something a sane person should be doing. A normal person in their right mind would never do such a thing. And yet she didn’t stop. She pressed the blade against the body and moved up it’s arm and quickly drew back. She watched, mystified as blood ran down the arm and pooled on the floor. The feeling came back, even stronger than before. She moved again, this time less hesitant. She placed her off hand on the top of the blade and drove it through the body’s hand, pinning it to the wood of the basement for a brief second before taking it out. She drove it back through her target. And then she did it again. And again. And again. Her mouth twisted into a grin as she increased her speed and ferocity. She began laughing as she went, growing from a soft, childlike giggle to unhinged, psychotic laughter. The body soon became a mess of flesh and stab wounds. She made one last hefty stab into its hearts. Blood had splattered across her hands and face as she worked. The fringe of her long brown hair had come loose and shrouding her wide eyes, manic and shining with murderous glee. She panted heavily, her hand still holding so tightly to the Legion’s knife so hard that her knuckles were white. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Her trance broke as she returned to reality. She let go of the knife still firmly in Jake’s corpse. She began to shake, looking at her blood stained hands in fear and confusion.

“ W-What… did I just… do?” She asked. 

“ You killed him.” Legion told her.

“ N-No I… I didn’t… I couldn’t have…” Her vision started to blur. “ I… I…”

“ Do you feel good?” He asked. She felt ashamed. However, she answered truthfully.

“ Yes.” She said. “ Yes I do.” The creak of the hatch opening could be heard above them.

“ I think that says a lot.” The Legion said. He tugged his knife free and leant against the basement wall, wiping the blood on his sleeves. “ It’s all yours, Killer. Good luck. See you around.” Slowly, Jessica rose from her place. She staggered as she walked, almost falling over as she climbed the basement stairs. She felt cold. Scared of herself. She didn’t know what she had just done. She didn’t know what the others would say if they knew what she’d done. But she still felt electric flowing through her veins. She looked again at her blood stained hands as she reached the hatch. Part of her wanted to do it again.

**************

When she awoke again, something was different. There was the campfire and the others, talking about how they’d get it next time. No-one knew of what she had done. Though everything looked the same, the atmosphere seemed heavier to her. The air seemed colder and heavy. She had to make more of an effort to breath. She watched the campfire silently as the embers danced, hugging her knees and trying not to think about it. The horrors she had committed.

Then she heard them. Whispers in the back of her mind. _ Murderer. _ She shot up to attention, looking from left to right. The whispers went away. She rubbed her eyes, thinking she was only tired. Tired and stressed out. She looked over at the other survivors, smiling and laughing away. She gritted her teeth as her eyes narrowed behind her veil like fringe. She returned clean of blood but her hair was still a mess from what she had done. She didn’t bother fixing it. No-one had even noticed. They just kept talking about how things would change. She knew they were lying to themselves. She also knew they would never understand. She tried explaining it to them before but Kate had just said “ Don’t lose hope.” She hated them so much. _ They are dragging you down. _

“ They’re dragging me… What?” Her eyes widened. She shook her head. “No.” She watched the embers dance. She looked down at the metal tool box at her side. She knew that killing people in the vicinity of the campfire did nothing. She had tried it herself. She has slipped behind one of the trees around the campfire a long time ago, grabbed a scalpel from one of the medkits and slit her own throat to free her from the nightmare. She woke up right back where she was. But if she killed someone, maybe they’d realise nowhere was safe. Maybe they’d stop treating this like some kind of game. A game they may actually win someday. She closed her eyes. The whispers returned. _ They are worthless. You don’t belong here. _ Jess reached up, holding her hands over her ears. “ Stop talking.” She muttered. She knew the words spoke the truth, but she hated having something unknown like the invading thoughts say it out loud to her. “ Please. Just stop.”

“ Did you say something, Jess?” Kate asked.

“ N-No.” She stammered. _ Stop acting like you care about me. _ Jess was surprised as she heard her own voice whisper in her ears. “ Just… a little worn out. I’m gonna take a walk.” She got up.

“ Is that safe?” Dwight asked. Shut up! _ I’ll kill you, damn coward. _ Her voice hissed in her mind.

“ All that’ll happen is I’ll come back here.” She joked. “ Not much to worry about.” She stumbled backwards a little. _ Leave me alone. _ Her whisper yelled. _ I’ll shoot you. I’ll cut your heart out. I’ll murder all of you. _ The whispers started getting louder.

“ Be back soon.” Adam told her. She didn’t bother to answer as she walked off. She slipped behind a tree when she was certain they stopped watching and held her hands to her mouth. Her mind was racing with thoughts. _ Worthless. Abandon them. _ She grabbed her head and slowly fell into a crouch. _ If they learn what you did, they’ll abandon you. Preempt them. _

“ Please stop.” She whimpered. “ What do you want from me?” Her breathing became shaky. Her fear enveloped her. “What is happening to me?” She whimpered. The voices started hissing in her ears again. _ You don’t belong with them. _ “ Stop it. Please, just… just shut up.” _ Give your life to me. _ “ I said shut up.” _ I can grant you peace. Give up the last of your hope and morality. _“ SHUT UP!” She yelled. The whispers silenced themselves. She felt tears run down her face. She was terrified. “ Please. Someone. Save me.”

The next trial should have been like any other. Jessica found herself at the circus grounds. She heard a chainsaw in the distance as the Hillbilly patrolled the area. She walked over to a hook and looked at it, toolbox in hand. She took the hook apart and looked at it, a chain attached it to the metal so when the time came, it could be yanked back up and ready to hang another person. _ Imagine the feeling of stabbing someone with this hook. _ The whispers told her. “ Stop talking.” She growled. _ The exhilaration of the hunt. The glory of the kill. Of the sacrifice. _ “ I said stop.” She heard the chainsaw rumbled behind her as it slowed to a halt. Jess stood and turned as the Hillbilly loomed over her. Instead of revving his chainsaw however, his deformed face grinned at her and moved on. “Why?” _ You are one. _ “ Stop it. I’m not…” The whispers just laughed at her.

A later trial was much the same. She had seen a trap in the storehouse and stood in it as she usually did. But the feeling of pleasure was dull. It was still there but not as much of a rush as before. The Trapper came by again. But instead of grabbing her, he simply let her go and nodded before walking away. “ Why are they sparing me?” _ They can sense it. You’re true nature. _ “ I told you. I’m not like that.” _ We shall see. _ Soon after, she came across Ash. He had stopped next to an open trap as the Trapper was walking by. _ Push him. Kill him. _ “ I don’t want to.” _ Do it. You want to feel good, don’t you? _ The whispers called. Jessica gritted her teeth. Slowly, she approached him and feigned tripping. Ash toppled back, slamming his foot in the trap. The Trapper immediately whirred around and faced him. She felt good when she heard his yell when he got impaled on the hook. She also felt annoyed at having to pull him off. She lied, apologising for being clumsy and he laughed it off. Then she smiled. “ I guess… I could do that again.”

Another game pitted her against the Wraith in the multi storied warehouse. She watched from afar as Dwight blew the generator right in front of his face. In a panic, he fled and slipped into a locker a room away. The Wraith walked by, stopping in front of her and looking at her. _ Betray him. _ “N-No. I can’t just…” _ Do it. You owe him nothing. _Knowing she was out of sight, she closed her eyes and pointed at the locker Dwight had hid inside. The killer muttered a word of thanks before hauling him out and pinning him up. She let a smile and giggle slip out before covering her mouth with her hand. She knew she shouldn’t feel as good as she did, but she couldn’t help it. “ This… may actually be... fun.” She muttered. “Perhaps… Perhaps I should…” Jess smirked devilishly. The next time, she was a lot less hesitant about betraying her allies.

Back at the campfire, she slipped away again. She laughed and grinned at her hidden betrayals of the people she knew she should be working with. She followed the whispers orders to the letter and they made her feel so exhilarated. She watched the survivors get hurt because of her. Fail because of her. Even die because of her. The killers never even touched her either. She felt like a spy. A hidden traitor. But, try as she might, the feeling never hit the high she got that first night so long ago now. When she drove a blade into someone over and over again. And the whispers returned. _ Give your life to me. _ Jess had never felt so tempted of something her entire life. She was so scared of the voices when she first heard them. Scared of what they were pushing her to do. It felt so silly to her now she had lived with them for a while. The whispers had made her feel so good. Led her to actions that made her feel such a rush. _ You don’t belong here. _ She didn’t belong here. She hated everyone. _ You no longer feel hope. _ She no longer felt hope. She had lost that so long ago. She knew there was no escape. Why pretend she did anymore? _ You wish to kill. _ She wished to kill. Causing her so called allies pain had caused her such joy. But one joy out did them all. She had killed once. It was the best feeling she had ever had. _ Come to me. Give your life to me. _

“ Yes.” She murmured. Her eyes darkened. “ I give myself to you. Let me kill again. I’ll do anything. “ She grinned. “These idiots. They don’t matter to me. As long as it benefits me, I’ll grind them all to dust. I’m tired of being hunted. Of feeling death again and again and again. I want more. Let me escape this hell. Let me inflict death on others instead.” She giggled. “ I want to kill.” Darkness surrounded her. She stepped out of hiding. Down a long path, she saw the faint glow of the campfire. She turned her back on it and walked away.

After a while of walking, she came to a halt. Before her was a mirror floating in the void. She peered through it at herself. But what was looking back at her was different that her current form. Her brown hair was covered by a hood attached to a long torn coat ended with black walking boots, though she could see a ponytail peeking out, blowing in the slight breeze, likely falling down from a hole in the back of the outfit. Her face was covered by a grey mask, blocking her mouth and nose from view but still giving her a view of her eyes. Instead of the icy blue colour the mirror should have shown, her eyes were red. Burning. The left arm of the coat was missing the lower half of the sleeve. Instead it showed of patches of pale skin but it was mostly obscured. A rusted chain wrapped around it, looking like it was digging in, tearing at the flesh. Attached to the end of it was a hook much like one that was used to hang her so many times. Finally, attached to her back, she saw a familiar sight. The end of a rifle. She already knew what it was. _ Touch the glass. _ The whispers commanded. She did so, raising her hands to the glass without hesitation. It pulsed as the two sides connected hands. Then the world spun. 

She was no longer looking at the hook wielding, leather coat wearing woman but instead into the frightened eyes of a girl. Twigs in her dirty brown hair. Broken headphones hanging around her neck. Dirt covering her jumper and shirt. Tears covering her skirt. She was cut all over. Her blue eyes looked down at her hands as Jessica watched. She looked back up in fear and banged on the glass. “ God.” Jessica mumbled. “ Was I really that pathetic?” 

“Please.” She barely heard the other her say. “ Come back. Don’t do this.” _ Break the mirror. _ The whispers commanded. “No! Don’t do it!” The other her yelled in a desperate plea. “ If you do it, you’ll never be able to return. You’ll be stuck over there.” Jessica looked down at the hook. She grabbed the chain and swung it, watching as momentum caused it to keep going. 

“ Why would I want to go back?” She mused, her voice muffled by her new mask. “ There’s nothing on that side for me.”  
“ There is! You just need to believe. You can return-”

“ Shut it.” She growled at her other self. “ I can’t return home. There’s no hope left for me or any of those other fools.”

“ Please.” The other Jessica pleaded, banging her fists on the glass. “ Don’t-” The other her was cut off as Jessica threw the hook through the mirror. It shattered and collapsed, falling into the void and being consumed. As it vanished, there was a bright flash of light. 

She opened her eyes in a new land. It was a small cottage, the walls broken. Pictures lay broken across the fireplace and among the ashes across the floor. There was no stairs but there was various rooms, each boarded up in a number of ways, some open and some only accessible if one were to vault the rubble. She stepped outside and looked upon the ruined targets, still half lying on the straw circles. She then looked into the forest and smiled. Finally, after all this time, she was home. Her father had taught her how to shoot a gun in this very house just on the edge of the forest. It was his hunting lodge. Her ears twitched as voices carried through the woods. Taking her sniper rifle off her back, she looked through the scope and scanned the woods. Across the way, sneaking around, were four survivors. They were talking some drivel about one of them that should have been there not being there. What a joke. She was never one of them. She loaded her gun and took aim and grinned. Her mouth went dry. Her heart raced from anticipation. _ My Sniper. Let the hunt commence. _ She heard the voice of the Entity say. _ Don’t disappoint me. _Of course she wouldn’t, she thought. She was given a new lease on life. She wasn’t going to waste this opportunity. Only one rule mattered. The predator hunts the prey. The Sniper took aim and fired the first of what was sure to be many, many bullets and listened to it ring out through the forest. “ Let the games begin.”

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, this is my first published work on the site. So if it's terrible, there's my excuse for it. Feedback is appreciated.
> 
> I might come back to the Sniper when DBD releases other chapters. I know the Stranger Things chapter is coming in September as of writing this, so maybe I'll come back with like a side work or something. Who knows.


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